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quicken them to their Duty, and a Curb to restrain them from the Practice of Evil: and therefore we find frequent Exhortations to this Virtue, to work out our Salvation with Fear and Trembling, and to serve God acceptably with Reverence and Godly Fear; which is one great Act of our hav ing or owning him for our God.

3. The having of a God, implies the worshipping and adoring of him: This is a Tribute we all owe to the Supreme Being, and is indeed peculiar to him; to acknowledge his infinite and adorable Perfections: to pray to him for all that we want, and to praise him for all that we receive; to be fenfible of our daily Need and Dependence upon him; to implore his Aid and Affiftance in all our Affairs, and to ask his Bleffing upon all that we undertake; to befeech him to avert from us all manner of Evil, and to bestow upon us all kinds of Good; and that not only for ourselves, but for all others that we ftand oblig'd to pray for. All this we find frequently call'd for, and inculcated upon us; Let Prayers and Supplications, Interceffions and giving of thanks be made for all Men, 1 Tim. 2. I. Praying always with all Prayer and Supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all Perfeverance; Eph. 6. 18.

This Homage is to be paid to him, not only in publick, by the folemn and unanimous Addreffes of the whole Church, but likewife in .private, by the joint Requefts of each particular Family; and in fecret too, by the hearty and devout Prayers of the Clofet. Moreover, this Divine Worfhip is to be offer'd up, partly with our Souls, in inward defires and breathings after him; partly with our Bodies, by bowing down and kneeling before him, and in all the decent Poftures of Humility and Adoration. All this is included in the owning or having a God; of which 'twill behove us therefore to be always mindful.

4. The having of a God, implies our trusting and relying upon him. The firft Conception we form of a Deity, is his being the Omnipotent Creator and Conferver of the World, that he made all things by his Power, and ftill preferves them by his Providence; both which are fufficient Motives of our Truft and Confidence in him: for thefe may abundantly fatisfy us, that he wants neither Ability nor Will to help us in our greatest Extremities. Hence we find our Bleffed Saviour cautioning his Followers against all carking and anxious Care about earthly things; willing them to take no perplexing Thoughts of Food or Raiment; for Dd 4

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he that feeds the Beafts, and clothes the Grafs of the Field, will not fee his own Children to lack Neceffaries: After these things (fays he) do the Gentiles feek, who know not God; whereas our Heavenly Father knows that we have need of all these things; and if we seek first the Kingdom of God, and the Righteousness thereof, these things fhall be added unto us. To the fame purpose the Apostle wills us, to caft all our Care upon him who careth for us: Not that we should neglect the Duties of our Calling, or throw off all Care of our own Safety and Welfare; but that we banish all distrustful Fears of Divine Providence, and commit ourfelves to God in well doing; not going out of his way, nor betaking our felves to any indirect Means to provide for our own Safety, but relying upon him for the fupply of all our Wants, and for fupport in all Dangers and Temptations. This the Knowledge and Belief of a God exacts from us, and therefore ought at all times, and in all cases to be perform'd by us.

5. The having of a God, implies the honouring and glorifying of him: This the tranfcendent Excellencies both of his Nature and Works justly challenge from us; for there are those apparent Marks of Infinite Power, Wisdom and Goodness, upon all the Works of his Hand, that may fet all confidering Perfons upon the magnifying and adoring of him. We find the Royal Pfalmift fpending the greateft part of his time, in extolling, praifing and glorifying of God, and likewife calling upon others to do the fame; I will magnify thy Name, O Lord, and praise my God while I have my Being. Praife the Lord, all ye Saints, for a pleasant and joyful thing it is to be thankful.

Now this honouring of God, is to fpeak and think worthily of him, to endeavour to be like him in all his imitable Perfections, and to direct all our Actions to his Glory. To thefe we have many Precepts and Examples in Holy Scripture; Whether ye eat or drink, or whatever ye do (fays the Apostle) do all to the Praife and Glory of God; 1 Cor. And elsewhere, Glorify God both in your Souls and Bodies, which are his. Yea, we find God himself challenging this from us by the Relation he ftands in to us, If I be a Father, where is my Honour? fays the Lord of Hofts: And likewife encouraging to the practice of it; Them that honour me, I will honour; and they that defpife me, fhall be lightly efteem'd.

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Laftly, The having of a God, implies the ferving him truly all the days of our Life. Among other Titles and Relations which God takes upon him, we find him ftyling himself our Lord and Master, who hath therefore the Right to command and govern us. Now the Duty of a Servant, we know, is to obey, and that not with a grumbling and unwilling Mind, but with a chearful and ready Obedience : And this is more efpecially due to our Mafter in Heaven, who is both our Maker and Redeemer; and therefore to be ferv'd truly, that is, not with Eye-fervice as Men-pleafers, but with a ready Mind as unto the Lord, and not unto Men. Moreover, he is to be ferv'd, not only fincerely but conftantly, that is all the days of our Life; we muft not fhrink from, or grow weary of his Service, but perfevere and hold on in it, even to the End.

All these things are included in the having of a God, which is the first thing requir'd in this Commandment. The

Second is, That we are not only to have or own a God, but to have the Lord Jehovah, or the true God for our God; for when we are commanded to have no other God befide him, it manifeftly implies that we are to have him for our God: meaning, that the God of Ifrael that brought them out of the Land of Egypt, as appears by the Preamble, is to be taken for the true God, and to receive the foremention'd Acknowledgments. The Ground-work of all Religion, and the Foundation of all our Hope, lie in owning and believing the true God, and therefore it was fit that this fhould be known and fettled in the firft Commandment; for a Miftake here would be not only dangerous, but deadly, and at once corrupt the Worfhip, and deftroy the whole Defign and Succefs of it: for which reafon, we are here directed and requir'd to have the one true God, or the Lord Jehovah for our God. He of whom Mofes affirms, that he made Heaven and Earth; He who made a Covenant with Abraham, and miraculously deliver'd the Ifraelites out of the House of Bondage, is here made the Object of our Adoration; He it is that is to have our Prayers, Praifes, and all Divine Honours. In a word, He it is that must be lov'd, fear'd, and trusted above all things. For this we have abundant reafon, not only from the Excellence of his Nature, and the Greatnefs of his Works, but from our intire Dependence upon him for Life, Breath, and all things. Henca

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we find Mofes declaring him to be glorious in Holiness, fearful in Praifes, doing Wonders. And the Elders in the Revelation are ever faying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive Honour and Glory, for thou hast created all things, and for thy Pleafure they are and were created.

Befide, he hath blefs'd the World with the best Revelation of Divine Truths that was ever made to it; he hath given the most rational, juft and equitable Laws to Mankind, and crowns all their Service with the most noble and ample Reward: which is abundant encouragement to have the Lord for our God, the fecond thing requir'd in this Commandment. The

Third and Laft is, That we fhould have Him only, or no other befide Him; meaning, that we fhould make the true God, or the God of Ifrael, the fole Object of Divine Worfhip, and give no Divine Honours to any elfe: and fo 'tis in effect the fame with that Precept of our Saviour, Thou halt worship the Lord thy God, and him only halt thou serve, Mat. 4. This was indeed the principal thing intended in this Commandment; for the Ifraclites to whom this Law was firft given, were too prone to forget God, to fall into Idolatry, and worship the Gods of the Egyptians: and therefore to prevent this, he minds them of the peculiar Right he had in them, and the great things he had done for them; beginning the Decalogue with this ftrict Precept, Thou fhalt have no other Gods before me. Which words may admit of a double Sense; either thou shalt have no other Gods before, that is above me; or, thou shalt have no other Gods before, that is, befide or together with me.

1. They who love, fear, or truft to any thing more than God, as the Worldling does to Mammon, have other Gods before or above the true God; for which reafon the covetous Man is ftyl'd an Idolater. Again,

They who make their Belly their God, and delight chiefly in Luxury and Intemperance, have other Gods above him: They who give the chiefeft of their Time and Affections to finful Pleafures, and prefer the Serving of their Lufts, before the Service of their Maker, have other Gods, and fet up the Abomination of their Eyes and Hearts above him. Moreover,

They who give more Divine Honour, and offer up more Prayers and Praises to other Things or Persons than to the true God, have other Gods before or above him; of

which they may do well to confider, who for one PaterNofter made to God, have ten Ave-Maries to the Bleffed Virgin.

2. They that join any in Co-partnership with the true God, or fet up any Rival Deities, have other Gods before or befide him. This was the Fault of the Samaritans: of whom we read, That they feared the Lord, and ferved their own Gods, after the manner of the Nations, whom God carried away from thence; 2 Kings 17. 33. They mix'd and blended the Service of the true, with that of falfe Gods: And how much the worshipping of Saints and Angels, and the giving Divine Honours to other things befide God, does refemble this, it will behove fome Perfons to confider.

Thus we fee what is requir'd in this Commandment, namely, to own the only true God, and to demean ourfelves towards him, futable to his Greatness and our Dependence upon him: To this, not only the Authority of our Maker, but our own Intereft; that is, our prefent Peace, and our future Happiness, are fufficient Motives to

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DISCOURSE V.

EXOD. XX. 3.

Thou shalt have no other Gods before me.

Shew'd in my laft, the Duties requir'd in this first Commandment; which were, to have a God, to have the True God, and to have no other befide him: I proceed now to confider what is forbidden in it, which are chiefly these three great Sins, oppofite to the foremention'd

Duties.

First, Atheism, which is the having of no God.

Secondly, Idolatry, which is the having of a falfe God. Thirdly, Polytheifm, which is the having of more or many Gods. All which must be briefly explain'd, that we may the better learn to hate and avoid them. And,

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